


The Question: "Who is Captain Marvel?"

by MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby



Series: Shazam & The Question [1]
Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Plastic Man (Comics), Shazam! (2019), Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics), The Question (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Fluff, Secret-Identity Reveal, Uncle-Nephew Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29890563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby/pseuds/MaroonLeoInvestedCrybaby
Summary: The Question is someone who simultaneously does not care about people but does care enough to dig into their business, especially if they are suspicious or interesting. During an insignificant encounter with Plastic Man and Captain Marvel, the detective hears a tidbit of the conversation that causes him to investigate the enigma that is the crimson hero with the thunderbolt on his chest.
Series: Shazam & The Question [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197743
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	The Question: "Who is Captain Marvel?"

The Question walked down the hallway of the Watchtower, pondering the validity of his latest conspiracy about the connection between Girl Scout cookies and crop circles. There was a link, he was certain of it.

Coming towards him and heading in the other direction, was Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. The two were chatting and laughing about something that was probably pointless so Question decided to block them out as he passed by the pair. However, there was a sentence said between them that caught his ear despite ignoring both heroes.

“You really are full of ideas, kid!”

Question stopped in his tracks and turned his head back to watch the other two League members continue down the hallway and eventually disappear from sight. His mind temporarily put cookies and crop circles aside and he narrowed his eyes as he stared down the empty hallway.

Kid…kid? Why would he call him ‘kid’?

Question eventually shook himself from that strange nickname and continued walking back to his quarters. He had more important issues to focus on than a strange name that one hero gives to another that is nothing significant.

Once the detective arrived back at his quarters and stepped over the stray papers that ended up on floor until he reached his desk, he started to write down all the new information about the members within League he collected. Some were quite obvious, such as preferred pairings between heroes, types of eating habits and what times they frequented the cafeteria, and the backgrounds of heroes who tend to fade into the background. Those were the types that Question was the most interested in. It was always a question of why: Why do they hide their past from others?

As he wrote on sticky-notes and added them to the conspiracy wall, as someone had called it before and Question never thought of a better name for it, he found his gaze wandering over to the picture of Captain Marvel he added months ago. There wasn’t anything particularly eye-catching about the hero except for his striking eyes and the fact that Plastic Man was in the background of the blurry snapshot. Seeing those two so close together reminded Question of how he saw them only moments ago in the hallway, chatting and calling each other by a nickname. Even though Question had more pressing things to think about, he could not get that particular encounter out of his head.

After a moment of consideration, the detective dug through his desk and pulled out everything he written down about both Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. He knew that Marvel was a relatively new hero and appeared only recently in the Justice League. The crimson hero seemed to only be comfortable around a select few League members, Plastic Man included. Marvel’s behavior was most of time relaxed and inviting, but seemed awkward around people who he was not familiar with, which is why Plastic Man being so close to him almost all hours of the day was intriguing.

That line of thought lead Question to pursue through the information he had on the rubbery hero who called himself Plastic Man. The man used to be a former gangster who was a victim of a tragic accident, the usual type of backstory for heroes and their motives, and for some reason has decided to hang around Captain Marvel. There was no obvious reason for this and it irked Question.

Why? What is the reason for this attachment?

Question could not sleep until he found the answers he needed and despite the fact it was around 10 pm when he started this investigation, he continued through the night. Even though he labelled folders with information on both of these heroes and he noted possible reasons for their friendship based off cross-examination, the detective could not find any logical reason for Captain Marvel and Plastic Man to be friends with one another.

Finally after researching until 6 am the next morning, Question admitted that he didn’t have sufficient evidence to link the two together with motives and backgrounds. The only way he was going to figure this mystery out was to interrogate a select few people and investigate a few locations.

When Question stood to begin his investigation, the detective nearly fell over from sitting for so long and not sleeping. He cursed under his breath and walked over into the small kitchen in his quarters to impatiently pour himself a cup of stale coffee. The detective reached into his purple over-coat and pulled out a can of aerosol and sprayed it all over his face. After a moment, he curled his fingers around the edge of the mask under his chin and peeled it off up to his nostrils. He lifted the cup of coffee to his mouth and exhaled sharply from the distinct tang of day-old java. It was horrible tasting but at least it sharpened his senses. Before he left, he also grabbed a piece of toast he happened to make last night and chewed through the cold and crunchy breakfast as he walked outside into the hallway. 

As soon as he finished the toast, Question pulled the mask back down and stuck it back to the underside of his chin. He started walking and kept his eyes open for Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. Dozens of other heroes passed by and didn’t even offer a good morning greeting to the faceless detective. It was always like that, and Question didn’t mind in the slightest. If less people notice you it makes it easier to discreetly observe and them and gather intel. In the detective’s experience, you can’t accomplish that if they constantly need to have communication hindering the process.

When Question turned the corner in the Watchtower hallway, he spotted the backs of both red-clad heroes. The detective sunk into the shadows and watched as the two walked down the hallway and chatted with each other, just like the evening before. Plastic Man has that usual infuriatingly positive smile on his face and Captain Marvel was returning the smile in almost childlike way. It nauseated Question to his stomach to see such a sickeningly close moment but he stayed near the heroes until lunchtime, nearly six hours spent just watching the two laugh and joke about things only the two were privy to.

The detective realized that it was pointless to continue this observation method so he decided while the two were busy, he would sneak into Captain Marvel’s quarters for evidence he could gather about the crimson hero. It took about thirty minutes to find the quarters but Question was feeling a little slow this morning considering he only ate a stale piece of toast and drank cold coffee.

The detective managed to get access to the quarters and walked into the room. He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary except the place needed to be cleaned up, there was trash littered on the floor that somehow missed the trashcan. Question stooped to the floor and saw an empty snack bag for an unusual brand of chips and he decided to keep it for later, so he slipped it into his overcoat pocket.

On the desk in the room, Question saw a piece of paper and a pencil laying there in plain sight and his eyes under the blank mask widened when he saw the writing on it. In fact, the obliviousness of Captain Marvel was enough to evoke a disbelieving chuckle from the detective as he pocketed the crucial evidence. There was no need to stay any longer, the faceless detective had all the proof he needed to interrogate the crimson hero…Or did he?

Question pulled out the piece of paper from his coat and considered all the possibilities it could have for clearing his suspicions about Captain Marvel’s character and past. Perhaps…he would need to pressure a witness into talking first, then he could finally squeeze the truth of Captain Marvel.

As he left the quarters, the detective saw both of the red-clad heroes headed to the Transporter Room, obviously sent on a mission together. Question decided that if he was going to find a witness to subject to questioning, he was going to observe who these two conversed with first. As he followed them down the hallway, he noticed how the pair talked with other League members but they didn’t seem immediately close or familiar so Question ruled the encounters out. 

However, when they entered the Transporter Room, there was a particular person that both Captain Marvel and Plastic Man stopped to chat with for a few minutes. He was an ordinary looking transporter crewman with plain brown hair and a friendly smile. Definitely a family man earning wages for his children and partner.

Question positioned himself where he could observe the three without looking like he was snooping and eavesdropped on the conversations between them. Plastic Man was gesturing with his rubbery limbs, obviously retelling a memorable mission while Captain Marvel interjected a few times and the crewman nodded with each pause.As he continued listening to the conversation, Question heard Plastic Man distinctly say:

“I’m telling you, George, this kid is amazing! I can hardly keep up with him sometimes!”

The detective smirked under his mask. Thanks to Plastic Man’s slip-up, he now had a witness that would have to testify about something he just heard and could press him on until he cracked. 

As soon as Captain Marvel and Plastic Man got on the Transporter and were sent off on their mission, Question advanced on the transporter crewman and called out to him in a threatening voice.

“You!”

George quickly turned around and panicked when he saw Question marching towards him. He started sweating but he couldn’t run because of all the League members who needed to be teleported down to their respective missions, so he could only stand there and feel the unreadable stare of the faceless detective as he continued working.

As soon the Transporter room was empty, Question advanced forward and George backed up until he felt the wall collide with his back. He could only stare up at the faceless detective and try to control how much his body was trembling in fear. The detective’s voice was cold, supposedly unaffected by how much his presence was frightening the poor transporter crewman.

“What do you know about Captain Marvel?”

George tried to pull a poker face but Question could see through it instantly.

“I don’t know anything about Captain Marvel. I only work the transporter, Question, sir.”

“Unlikely, George. You say that you are only a transporter crewman but there is information you’re withholding from me.”

Despite himself, George started to let his sorry attempt at a poker face slip and started to show midl interest in the detective’s deductions.

“What would that be, sir?”

Question placed his hand on the wall behind George and slowly leaned towards the nervous crewman.

“You know where Captain Marvel frequents, a.k.a, the locations he would use as a headquarters when he is absent from the Watchtower. If I am correct, then you are potentially in possession of Captain Marvel’s hometown.”

George looked down at the floor, trying to hold his shattering will together but the intimidating, blank stare of the detective was breaking him down.

“That doesn’t prove anything, Question, sir. Even if I knew where Captain Marvel liked to go during his time off, why would that necessarily mean his secret headquarters? What evidence do you have that says I know that?”

Question’s voice turned chilling as he nearly spoke directly into George’s ear.

“I saw you, talking with both Plastic Man and Captain Marvel. There was a particular term that Plastic Man used for Captain Marvel…Do you happen to recall what it was?”

“N-no—“

“Kid,” Question interrupted and saw George flinch, “That rubbery idiot called Captan Marvel a kid. Now, why would he call a hero around his own age by a nickname like that?”

George crumbled on the spot and finally broke down in his attempt of not spilling information.

“Ok, I confess. I do have some information about Captain Marvel but I can’t tell you, sir. I promised not to, under any circumstances.”

Question finally backed away from the trembling transporter crewman and put his hands in his overcoat pockets. His voice took on a tone that sounded like he was smiling but his blank face made it hard for George to tell. The only thing George knew was that his knees wouldn’t stop shaking.

“There’s no need, George. You’ve given me all the information I needed. Thank you.”

Question grabbed the brim of his fedora and tipped his head, giving a little nod, and then turned away with a swish of his trench coat. George kept trembling as he stumbled back to the control and gripped the consoles as he muttered fearfully under his breath.

“I-I don’t kept p-paid enough to deal w-with these heroes. If m-my family only knew w-what I go through e-everyday…”

———————————————————————————————————————  
Once the detective left the Transport Room and felt confident about the amount of evidence he collected to question both Captain Marvel and Plastic Man, Question decided to stop by the cafeteria and grab some food, since he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. He needed to wait until the pair of heroes returned from this mission so he might as well eat something first.

The cafeteria was serving the usual snacks so Question quickly headed over to the buffet table and grabbed an apple, a handful of crackers, and a few slices of cheese, which he piled onto a plate and promptly sat down near a dark corner to eat without being disturbed. 

However, as soon as he got halfway through the food, he heard the announcements over Watchtower speakers saying that all the heroes who transported out earlier had all arrived back safely. Question poured the rest of his snacks into a napkin and tucked into the pocket of his overcoat, for later.

He left the cafeteria and kept his eyes open for two particular heroes he had been wanted to question for about two days now. League members filed down the hallway, heading back to their quarters to rest or get medical attention and Question continued walking against the current of heroes, still look for those two red-clad heroes. In the crowd, the detective spotted the goggles of Plastic Man and saw that Marvel was standing nearby. Question strode forward and stood about a foot away from the pair. After seeing that Plastic Man and Captain Marvel hadn’t noticed his presence, he cleared his throat and the elastic hero nearly jumped out his skin.

“Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, I would like to have a word with you in private.”

Plastic Man looked insanely nervous and held up a shaking finger.

“One minute, Question.”

The rubbery hero turned around and had Captain Marvel lean down so he could whisper something to him. Question put his hands in his overcoat pockets and waited impatiently for the two to finish talking. Once they did, Plastic Man still looked uncomfortable but Captain Marvel looked curious about what Question wanted to talk about.

“Follow me then, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man. I have some questions I need to ask you.”

Plastic Man chuckled a little alongside Captain Marvel as he followed the detective.

“Ironic that your name happens to be Question, huh?”

The detective let out a hollow, patronizing laugh at the rubbery hero’s jab.

“Very clever, Plastic Man. Have you ever considered switching careers to a comedian? It would suited far better your abilities to than being heroic.”

Captain Marvel spoke up from behind, sounding angry that someone was insulting his friend.

“Plastic Man is an amazing hero, Question!…” The detective swiveled his head around as he continued walking and looked back at Marvel, which caused the crimson-hero to swallow and respond in a quieter, more respectable tone, “Sir…”

After that short lived argument, Captain Marvel and Plastic Man followed Question back to his quarters and the faceless detective’s chilling silence made the other two heroes extremely anxious. 

All three of them entered the detective’s quarters and Question made no move to offer them any food, considering all he had was now two day-old coffee and the smooshed snacks he stuffed in his overcoat pocket. Plastic Man and Captain Marvel looked around the room and noticed how messily-organized everything was. For instance, the desk where Question sat and noted information was covered in papers but it was marked with colored sticky-notes and there were organizational keys written on the walls.

After the awkward atmosphere continued for a little too long, Plastic Man cleared his throat and tried to get Question’s attention.

“So, what did want to talk about, Q?”

Question turned to both Plastic Man and Captain Marvel and it was difficult to tell exactly which person he was addressing.

“How old are you?”

Plastic Man blinked a few times and pointed at himself.

“Are you talking about me?”

“Yes, how old are you?”

Plastic Man rubbed the back of his head, looking a little sheepish.

“To be honest with you, Q, I don’t really know. When you get broken up into little pieces and separated for years, you start to lose track.”

Question let out a sigh and slightly turned his head to look at Captain Marvel.

“What about you, Marvel?”

Captain Marvel glanced over at Plastic Man for a second and then looked back at Question.

“I’m in the same boat as Plas.”

Underneath the mask that Question wore, he narrowed his eyes. These two were clearly deflecting his inquiries. Well, there was only thing left for the detective to do to get information: Ask more questions that slowly pile on pressure until they crack.

“Let me ask you another question then, Plastic Man. If you both do not know your respective ages, then why did you refer to Marvel as ‘kid’?”

Plastic Man’s mouth opened slightly in surprise and before he could speak, Captain Marvel was quick to cover for him.

“That’s just a nickname that Plas gave me. Everyone has nicknames for their friends, don’t they?”

“Do they, Marvel? I find it suspicious that Plastic Man would choose a name that indicates you are younger than him, despite not being aware of each other’s ages.”

Captain Marvel narrowed his eyes at Question.

“You don’t have to know something like that to be friends.”

Question let out an oddly melancholy chuckle at that sappy statement.

“I suppose I wouldn’t know anything about that…However,” Question turned back to his desk that was covered in piles of papers and shuffled around until he pulled out an old chip bag and waved it around for the other two to see, “This evidence near Captain Marvel’s trash bin says otherwise.”

Plastic Man’s face scrunched up in anger when he saw the chip bag and spoke in an incredulous tone.

“You broke into his quarters and went through Captain Marvel’s trash?!”

Question rolled his eyes under his blank mask.

“Oh please….I go through everyone’s trash.”

The detective turned to Captain Marvel and waited for him to respond to the snack bag. After a moment, the crimson hero shook his head.

"Those are my chips, Question, but that doesn't prove anything. Plas likes those chips too, don't you?"

Plastic Man quickly nodded at Marvel's prompting and Question sighed as he threw the bag away into the trashcan, quite the opposite of how he found it and narrowed his eyes at Captain Marvel.

“If you won’t come clean with that piece of evidence, perhaps this incriminating one will make you talk, Marvel.”

Captain Marvel waited anxiously as Question went back to his desk and shuffled through the papers again. Plastic Man stretched his neck up about three inches so he could be the same height as Captain Marvel and whispered in his ear.

“Maybe we should split, Cap. Question might have figured us out.”

Captain Marvel turned and whispered back to Plastic Man while shielding their faces from Question.

“If we leave, it might just make him more curious. We should just—“

“You should…what?”

Captain Marvel and Plastic Man both jumped and as Marvel hurriedly put his hand back down, Question had his head tilted to the side and if his body language was any indicator, he was annoyed.

“If you two are done having yet another secret conference, I would like you to explain this piece of evidence.”

The detective waved around a piece of paper that looked like it had pencil scribbles all over it and there seemed to be some simplified data printed next to all the handwritten notes. Plastic Man got a better look at what Question was holding and his goggles bugged in and out, like those old cartoon characters who saw something shocking. Captain Marvel’s eyes widened for a moment and then he tried to keep a neutral expression. It was a terrible attempt and Question spotted it right away.

“You know what this is, don’t you, Marvel?”

The crimson hero shook his head, feigning ignorance and the faceless detective was microseconds from running across the room and strangling Captain Marvel. Instead of attacking another League member, Question studied the piece of paper and started listing off everything he saw on it.

“Since you seem ignorant of what this is, I will tell you. This is a math homework page, most likely for children in the seventh grade,” Question pointed a finger at one of the problems and glanced at Captain Marvel, “Notice how this problem has been answered in childish scribbles? Now, why do you have this in your possession?”

For a moment, none of the three heroes spoke. Question waited almost impatiently for the crimson hero to try and come up with another excuse while Plastic Man was nearly chewing his elastic nails down to the cuticle. As the tense atmosphere was beginning to become insufferable, Captain Marvel finally let out a defeated sigh and looked Question in the eye. Well, as best he could considering he couldn’t see the detective’s eyes at all.

“Fine, you win, Question.”

Plastic Man panicked and gripped Captain Marvel’s shoulder.

“Are you sure about this, Cap? Question over there is known around the Watchtower for being paranoid. What if he babbles and accidentally tells someone about you?”

“It’s alright, Plas. After all, you found out because you were curious; Question over there did exactly the same thing.”

Captain Marvel turned to Question and extended his hand. The faceless detective titled his head to stare at Marvel’s hand and then looked back up, waiting for the crimson hero to explain.

“Here’s the deal, Question: I’ll tell you my real name but you won’t see my face. Plas over here found out because he followed me one day, and Booster—“

“Wait,” Plastic Man interrupted and stretched out his neck so his face was in front of Captain Marvel’s, his voice sounding insanely shocked over this new information, “Booster Gold found out about you?! When was this?”

“I’ll tell you later, Plas,” Captain Marvel gently pushed Plastic Man’s face out of the way with his left hand and still kept his right extended towards Question, “Now, do we have a deal, Question?”

The detective brought his hand up to his chin and thoughtfully stroked it considering the offer. After a few moments, Question gave an answer.

“I don’t know, Marvel. This is the first I have heard about Booster Gold being aware of your alter-ego and if you are this inadequate at keeping your secret identity, than perhaps that information isn’t worth agreeing to your deal.”

Captain Marvel smirked and lowered his right hand.

“Well, I guess nobody will ever believe you when you show them all that evidence you collected. I'll deny anything they ask me while you try to convince them.”

Plastic Man struggled to contain his laughter from Captain Marvel’s retort and Question crossed his arms across his chest. The two stared at each other for what felt like forever before Question spoke again.

“Very well, Marvel. What do you want in return?”

“ I want you to tell me everyone’s favorite snacks.”

“What?”

Captain Marvel rolled his eyes and looked mildly annoyed at the detective who wasn't understanding his reasoning.

“You said you go through everyone’s trash, right? You would obviously know what each person likes the most based on how often you see it. I want to pay back everyone sometime by buying them snacks.”

Question uncrossed his arms and stared at the crimson hero.

“That has to be one of the most ridiculous solicitations I have ever heard, Marvel.”

Captain Marvel extended his right hand again and waited for the detective to meet him halfway.

“Do we have a deal, Question?”

Seeing as this was the condition of knowing the crimson hero’s identity, Question walked forward and shook Captain Marvel’s hand. Without heisting for even a second, the detective immediately launched into collecting the information he sought for approximately two days.

“Now, your secret identity, please.”

“My name’s Billy Batson and I’m twelve years old.”

If the detective was surprised by Marvel’s actual age, Question didn’t show it. He simply turned back to his desk, jotted the information down and then picked up a paper with meticulous notes on it and handed it to Captain Marvel.

“Here is a list of every League member’s choice of snacks. I expect you to return that after taking notes, Batson.”

A smile spread across Marvel’s face as he took the paper.

“Hey, you called me by my last name, Question!”

“Don’t get used to it.”

Plastic Man awkwardly cleared his throat and both Question and Captain Marvel turned towards him.

“If that’s all you wanted to know Question, can me and Billy go now? We kinda had plans to try some sugary cereals and enjoy our day off.”

The detective once again sighed at the ridiculousness of these two idiots and waved his hand dismissively towards his quarter doors.

“Yes, this exchange of information was adequate. You two can resume your senseless consumption of bioengineered chemicals in easy to consume cereal form.”

Captain Marvel and Plastic Man both struggled not to laugh at that description of their activities as they left Question’s quarters. However, as soon as they left, Question made a fist and excitedly pumped his arm up and down.

“Finally, vindication!”

Then in a quieter voice full of realization, the detective muttered to himself.

“Oh, Captain Marvel is actually a child…”

Then Question collapsed onto the floor from not sleeping enough for the past two days, which he promptly fell asleep while feeling satisfied with the results of his investigation.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Oh wow, has it really been that long since I have posted? Time just gets away from me I guess...Anyways, I'll just throw this fic here before I disappear into the void again and return just when everyone thinks I am gone forever. lol Just kidding, I apologize for being away for so long and I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic. I loved having Question make an appearance here and just be obsessed with figuring out Captain Marvel's secret-identity. He may not seem it now but I am planning on having him be the third weird uncle of Billy Batson and slowly grow into that role over time. He's just so much fun to write as an obsessive loner who is awkward around people, I just love it so much.
> 
> Something I wanted to keep under wraps but might just tell my readers is that I am planning on having fics with Billy, Plas, Booster and Question all together and causing chaos. They are so fun to write just talking with each other and to be honest, Billy is the only responsible adult out of the bunch. I may have to post a few fics before I do these but I hope you will look forward to them in the future. Thanks for reading and as usual, any kudos or comments you leave make my day!


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